Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB129 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R514 AJA-D
2	2	By: Gutierrez H.B. No. 129
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the election of the commissioner of insurance.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 31.022, Insurance Code, is amended to
10	10	read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 31.022. ELECTION [APPOINTMENT; TERM]. The
12	12	commissioner is elected by the qualified voters at the general
13	13	election for state and county officers for a term of four years.
14	14	[(a) The governor, with the advice and consent of the senate,
15	15	shall appoint the commissioner. The commissioner serves a two-year
16	16	term that expires on February 1 of each odd-numbered year.
17	17	[(b) The governor shall appoint the commissioner without
18	18	regard to the race, color, disability, sex, religion, age, or
19	19	national origin of the appointee.]
20	20	SECTION 2. Section 31.024, Insurance Code, is amended to
21	21	read as follows:
22	22	Sec. 31.024. INELIGIBILITY FOR PUBLIC OFFICE. The
23	23	commissioner is ineligible to be a candidate for another [a] public
24	24	elective office in this state, unless the commissioner has resigned
25	25	and the governor has accepted the resignation.
26	26	SECTION 3. Section 31.027(a), Insurance Code, is amended to
27	27	read as follows:
28	28	(a) It is a ground for removal from office if the
29	29	commissioner:
30	30	(1) [does not have at the time of appointment the
31	31	qualifications required by Section 31.023;
32	32	[(2) does not maintain during service as commissioner
33	33	the qualifications required by Section 31.023;
34	34	[(3)] violates a prohibition established by Section
35	35	33.001, 33.003, 33.004, or 33.005; or
36	36	(2) [(4)] cannot, because of illness or disability,
37	37	discharge the commissioner's duties for a substantial part of the
38	38	commissioner's term.
39	39	SECTION 4. Sections 33.004(a) and (b), Insurance Code, are
40	40	amended to read as follows:
41	41	(a) A person who is an officer, employee, or paid consultant
42	42	of a trade association in the field of insurance may not be[:
43	43	[(1) the commissioner; or
44	44	[(2)] an employee of the department who is exempt from
45	45	the state's position classification plan or is compensated at or
46	46	above the amount prescribed by the General Appropriations Act for
47	47	step 1, salary group A17, of the position classification salary
48	48	schedule.
49	49	(b) A person who is the spouse of an officer, manager, or
50	50	paid consultant of a trade association in the field of insurance may
51	51	not be[:
52	52	[(1) the commissioner; or
53	53	[(2)] an employee of the department who is exempt from
54	54	the state's position classification plan or is compensated at or
55	55	above the amount prescribed by the General Appropriations Act for
56	56	step 1, salary group A17, of the position classification salary
57	57	schedule.
58	58	SECTION 5. Section 52.092(c), Election Code, is amended to
59	59	read as follows:
60	60	(c) Statewide offices of the state government shall be
61	61	listed in the following order:
62	62	(1) governor;
63	63	(2) lieutenant governor;
64	64	(3) attorney general;
65	65	(4) comptroller of public accounts;
66	66	(5) commissioner of the General Land Office;
67	67	(6) commissioner of agriculture;
68	68	(7) commissioner of insurance;
69	69	(8) railroad commissioner;
70	70	(9) [(8)] chief justice, supreme court;
71	71	(10) [(9)] justice, supreme court;
72	72	(11) [(10)] presiding judge, court of criminal
73	73	appeals;
74	74	(12) [(11)] judge, court of criminal appeals.
75	75	SECTION 6. Section 504.401(d), Transportation Code, is
76	76	amended to read as follows:
77	77	(d) In this section, "state official" means:
78	78	(1) a member of the legislature;
79	79	(2) the governor;
80	80	(3) the lieutenant governor;
81	81	(4) a justice of the supreme court;
82	82	(5) a judge of the court of criminal appeals;
83	83	(6) the attorney general;
84	84	(7) the commissioner of the General Land Office;
85	85	(8) the comptroller;
86	86	(9) a member of the Railroad Commission of Texas;
87	87	(10) the commissioner of agriculture;
88	88	(11) the commissioner of insurance;
89	89	(12) the secretary of state; or
90	90	(13) [(12)] a member of the State Board of Education.
91	91	SECTION 7. Sections 31.023 and 33.002, Insurance Code, are
92	92	repealed.
93	93	SECTION 8. (a) The first general election for commissioner
94	94	of insurance shall be held November 2, 2010, for a two-year term
95	95	beginning on January 1, 2011. Thereafter, the commissioner of
96	96	insurance shall be elected to serve a four-year term.
97	97	(b) Until the first commissioner of insurance elected under
98	98	this Act takes office, the commissioner serving on the effective
99	99	date of this Act shall, unless otherwise removed as provided by law,
100	100	continue in office under the prior law that governed the office, and
101	101	that prior law is continued in effect for that purpose. If on
102	102	January 1, 2011, there is a vacancy in the office of commissioner of
103	103	insurance created under this Act because the first
104	104	commissioner-elect has died or refuses or is permanently unable to
105	105	serve, the commissioner serving on that date shall, unless
106	106	otherwise removed as provided by law, continue in office under the
107	107	prior law that governed the office until the governor fills the
108	108	vacancy by appointment in the manner provided by law. The prior law
109	109	that governed the office of the commissioner of insurance is
110	110	continued in effect for that purpose.
111	111	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009, except
112	112	that Sections 3, 5, and 6 of this Act take effect January 1, 2011.